KRISIS 2009 Articles in full
Editorial:
Boneless Glory.
We are once again at the top list.
The overwhelming victory of Manny Pacquiao as the greatest boxer in the world is overridden by another history maker just weeks after. Philippines beat Iraq as the most dangerous place for journalists in the world with 134 journalist killings—30 of such were the victims of the hideous Ampatuan massacre. No way can we be any proud of this record-breaking.
In 2004 alone, during the time of President Gloria Arroyo, there were 74 cases or more than half of the number of media killings recorded, according to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.
However, the issue is far beyond the freedom of the press. The unabated culture of violence in Maguindanao and the government’s lack of appropriate action led to the mass murder that registered the world’s highest number of journalists slain in a day in one incident.
November 23, before the filing of candidacy by the wife of Esmael Mangudadatu, a local official in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, some 57 people including Mangudadatu’s wife and sisters, journalists, and two lawyers, were brutally killed. The women were raped— their heads and private organs, shattered with bullets.
Investigations point out to Andal Ampatuan, Jr. as the alleged mastermind of the mass murder. The Ampatuans, the long time patriarch clan in Maguindanao, is a strong ally of President Gloria Arroyo, who in 2004, had a landslide victory over the late Fernando Poe, Jr.
It’s rather difficult neither to point fingers at the government nor to discount a premeditated angle to the murder, as the very presence of government-owned backhoes and pre-dug pits just four kilometers from where the convoy was stopped, is a bit too coincidental.
The rifles found in the crime scene were the same rifles the government has allotted to combat the Moro-Islamic Liberation Front, whom the Ampatuans claimed to be their hardest enemy.
There are things to learn from the massacre. Maguindanao, like in other places in Luzon and Visayas, are ruled by oligarch. This, being the root of the trouble, should not be tolerated.
Warlordism, a term first used during a chaos at the end of the Qing dynasty in China, occurs mostly in failed states where the central government and national authorities have no control over the state territory. It is often characterized by low bureaucratic control and a prolonged war for economic reasons.
With a separate power seemingly even higher than the state, the powerful Ampatuan clan perpetuates the culture of violence in Maguindanao. The government’s failure to address the long-term warlordism in Maguindanao is thus an insult to democracy.
Second, the government’s tacit approval, exploitation and tolerance of the culture of violence, worsens the peace conditions in Maguindanao.
Seeing armed men carrying fire arms and paltiks in Maguindanao is commonplace. In fact, the culture of violence starts even at a young age, where children are normally drafted to be part of the private army. Private armies even have blessings from Arroyo, who herself, have issued in July 2006 Executive Order 546— an order allowing local officials and the PNP to use barangay tanods as “force multipliers” in battling insurgencies. Justified though as a means to combat the MILF in Mindanao, government-funded armies goes against the 1987 Constitution entirely banning private armed groups. The private armies, disguised in a new name, then operate as armed, yet legal Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs).
Third, Arroyo is in debt to the Ampatuans after giving her a landslide victory in 2004, that the government remains hands off and indecisive towards the incident.
In a previous interview of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism with Maguindanao provincial administrator Norie Unas, he affirmed the acceptance of people towards the fraudulent election and political system in Maguindanao. The stability of their political landscape, however, does not come from the people’s recognition of their authorities, as Unas claimed, but in the country’s culture of impunity—the government’s inability to assert its power and assume responsibility.
The boneless government we have manifests in its failure to demand and impose punishment on the perpetrators. Previously, Cerge Remonde asked Andal Ampatuan, Jr. to voluntarily surrender. As in the words of Conrado de Quiros, “paying for crime is not a matter of volition.” The state has all the right to assert judgment and risk military action in crimes as gruesome as this one. No preferential treatment should be given to Andal Ampatuan, Jr. The system of corruption, violence, the fraud election system, and the men behind those, created the Ampatuans. The government has tolerated, if not created, the pervading flaws in the system. It must, of course, know the way to shut off its creation.
Presently, Ampatuan, Jr. is under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation. We made it to the top list. The international communities’ eyes are now on us. While these deaths translate to great loss, it is also time for the government to stop the pervading cycle of violence. Start by dismantling private armies, and holding the involved liable. Arroyo has gone so far on the coddling of monstrosities and scum of society that she, herself, has sunk to their likeness and level, perhaps, even lower. Show some bones, Glory.
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UNDER SIEGE
By Norman Lee Benjamin de Leon Riego
We’re simply covering a filing of candidacy.
This was probably what the 30 journalists, who were part of the convoy that accompanied the wife of gubernatorial candidate of Maguindanao, thought. The convoy included around 30 other people, most of them women. Mundane as it was supposed to be, the trip ended elsewhere. On their way to the provincial office of the Commission on Elections, about 100 gunmen ambushed them and sentenced them to a deplorable massacre.
Though Maguindanao has long been known to have a violent political climate, the massacre still strikes a repugnant cord. From those mercilessly murdered, some were tortured and some of the women were raped – actions that compound the mere fact that they were killed. Toto Mangudadatu, the gubernatorial candidate, sent his wife and his sisters to file his certificate of candidacy, thinking that no harm can occur because Muslim beliefs dictate that women are to be respected to the absolute. As further insurance, the Mangudadatus employed a cluster of journalists to cover the event, thinking that no harm can occur because there would be immediate backlash from the press in case of anything unfortunate to happen to such a large group of journalists.
The Mangudadatu used human shields to avoid the imminent hazards; lamentably, the murderers did not seem to comprehend what human meant.
Chronicles of deaths foretold
The martyrdom of the 30 media practitioners reflects the history of violence against journalists in the Philippines. From 1986, 128 journalists have been killed, pushing the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism to say that “Journalism is one of the most dangerous professions in the Philippines today” in Staying Alive. Add the 30 victims of the Maguindanao massacre, and it may be claimed that journalism is already the most dangerous profession in the Philippines.
After the Marcos regime, the trend on the number of journalists killed has generally been upward. The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines also reports that more journalists have been killed under the Arroyo administration than during the entirety of Marcos’ martial law rule. These truths have led many international agencies to place the Philippine journalistic climate under a microscope. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists coined the Philippines as “the most murderous country for journalists” in May 2005.
The fact that there were 30 journalists killed in a single event gave the Philippines the dubious honor of the title “most dangerous country to practice journalism”. This is according to international media watchdog group International Federation of Journalists that reported that the country even ranked ahead of war-torn Iraq and destabilized Iran.
Impunity
Of the sheer amount of killings of journalists, only a handful have been resolved, if any. According to the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, “State inaction is a contributing factor to the continuing violations against press freedom. The most pro-active response from the government to date is the establishment of Task Force Usig, tasked to prosecute cases of such violations. The slow pace of the Philippine justice system does no favors for the prosecution of such. The number of journalists being killed is increasing much faster than the number of convictions.
The nagging inaction of the government has led several journalistic agencies here and abroad to pressure the state to bring forth justice.
“The Philippines is becoming known for a culture of impunity and the government has the responsibility to demonstrate a commitment to reversing this trend,” said Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor. Since the Philippines prides itself to be a democratic state, it should exert its utmost to truly epitomize such.
Multiple choices, one answer
The Maguindanao massacre is an abhorrent embodiment of the culture of impunity relished by powerful criminals and the violent climate for journalism in the Philippines. Journalism is a proud profession and needs to continue to be such; not succumbing to the pressures and threats selfishly imposed by the power-hungry. The dubious honors the international community has given the Philippines should not serve as an indication that impunity and violence have triumphed. Instead, it should be a wake-up call to each and every one that what is occurring is, by no means at all, right.
Now, more than ever, it has been made clear to Filipinos, and even to the world, that journalism is truly under siege. Journalists are under the hazards of impunity and violence. It is said that no story is worth dying for, but at the same time, no story is worth killing for.
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Retracing Maguindanao
By Myra Cabujat
Maguindanao was barely known to us until the massacre that killed 57 individuals, journalists and civilians included.
What really triggered the massacre is yet to be known. The past, however, may leak us some clues.
End of 15th century
• Islam was introduced in the Philippines and the Sultanate of Maguindanao was established.
o Sharif Sultan Muhammad bin Ali Zainal Abidin (Sharif Kabunsuan) was the first sultan.
1565
• The said start of the Mindanao conflict as the “moros” fought for ownership of their land.
1973
• Bangsa Moro Army was established to fight against the Armed Forces of the Philippines
November 22, 1973
• The province of Maguindanao was established through Presidential Decree No. 341, along with North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.
1976
• Then President Ferdinand Marcos granted autonomy to 13 provinces of Mindanao as part of the peacekeeping movements with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Maguindanao included.
1986
• After the EDSA Revolution, Former President Corazon Aquino removed all the local officials in their positions and appointed Officers-in-Charge (OICs) to govern places. Because of this, Aquino assigned Andal Ampatuan, Sr. to be the OIC of Maganoy (now Shariff Aguak), Maguindanao.
1988
• The first local election in Maguindanao took place, so as to test the acceptability of the OICs appointed by Aquino.
o Ampatuan, Sr. won as mayor.
• Apmatuan, Sr. was also charged for the murder of his poll rival Surab Abutasil.
o Charges were filed against Ampatuan, Sr., but these did not prosper.
August 1, 1989
• The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was established through the Republic Act 6734. The decree was intended to address the grievances of the Bangsamoro against the Philippine government.
o Maguindanao joined.
o According to Institute for Autonomy and Governance, since ARMM’s establishment, it has been a “hostage to power-brokers in the Malacanang Palace”
• Zacaria Candao was elected as the first ARMM Governor.
1996
• Final Peace Agreement between the government and the MNLF
o Enactment of Organic Act or Expanded ARMM Law (Republic Act 9054) was considered as a breakthrough in peacekeeping between the GRP and MNLF
o However, it was not sufficient to remedy the problem on muslim political warlordism in Mindanao.
2001
• Andal Ampatuan, Sr. defeated Candao in the 2001 gubernatorial race.
• President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo anointed Dr. Parouk Hussin to be the ARMM governor.
o Dr. Parouk Hussin was also the the leader of “Council of 15”, a council founded for MNLF peacekeeping processes.
May 2004—Presidential Elections
• Arroyo won over her rivals, including the late Fernando Poe, Jr. in the presidential elections.
o Arroyo won with a huge lead over her opponents in ARMM.
Arroyo garnered a total of 82, 411 votes (99.83% of the total votes) in ARMM.
In two towns in Maguindanao, Arroyo got all the votes, while her rivals got zero.
• The Ampatuans won on the local elections.
o Andal Ampatuan, Sr. won for his 2nd term.
o His sons, grandsons and relatives also sworn into office for other local positions.
• According to the reports of Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), Guimid Matalam, whom Ampatuan defeated, cited alleged cheating in 25 out of 27 towns in Maguindanao.
o Matalam said that election returns were already prepared at the eve of the election, and most of the ballot boxes were never brought in their respective precincts.
2005
• Andal Ampatuan, Sr.’s son, Zaldy, became the youngest governor of ARMM.
July 2006
• The Arroyo administration passed the Executive Order 546, allowing the local officials and the PNP to deputize barangay tanods as “force multipliers”.
o The EO 546, in practice, “allow local officials to convert their private armed groups into legal entities with a fancy name: civilian volunteer organizations (CVO).”
May 2007
• During the local elections, the Team Unity (which is under the administration) swept their opponents with 12-0 the Genuine Opposition in Maguindanao.
o Luis “Chavit” Singson topped the senatorial race in the said province.
• The Ampatuans won unopposed in the local elections.
• Controversies involving poll fraud arose.
o According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Moro Islamic Liberation Font (MILF) spokesperson Eid Kabalu said in an interview that he received reports telling him that “there was no actual conduct of elections in various parts of Maguindanao”.
Kabalu added that according to MILF members and supporters, election paraphernalia did not come in some voting precincts.
o The same allegations were told by a teacher (who also acted as a member of the Board of Election Inspectors or BEI) as she was interviewed by the Philippines Daily Inquirer with regards to the 2007 Elections.
The teacher “accused the local Comelec officials in Maguindanao, the police and the military of committing fraud.
She added that “no actual elections happened in Maguindanao, teachers were ordered to fill out the ballots at the eve of the election, and the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Electiopns (NAMFREL) representatives were not allowed to enter the voting precincts in Shariff Aguak”
o A 51 year-old man told the same accusations in his affidavit.
According to him, he and his fellow BEI members “were brought to a banana patch to fill out ballots while armed men stood by”
o According to Maguindanao Provincial Administrator Norie Unas, “Team Unity’s landslide victory was due to Gov. Ampatuan’s extensive consultations with the local government officials”.
Unas added that one of the objectives of the said consultation was “to order people to vote as a bloc under threat of sanctions”.
Moreover, Gov. Ampatuan was figured in the case, “after promising Php1M to every mayor in the province who could deliver a 12-0 win for Team Unity”
o The resignation of Comm. Rene Sarmiento, head of Task Force Maguindanao, last May 31, 2007 magnified the controversies.
o Another one that amplified the fraud was the case of Maguindanao schools district supervisor Musa Dimasidsing, who was shot dead last June 2007 after exposing alleged election irregularities in the province.
November 20, 2009
• The filing of Certificates of Candidacy (COCs) began for the 2010 Presidential and Local Elections.
November 23, 2009
• The Maguindanao Massacre came about.
November 24, 2009
• The provinces of Maguindanao, as well as Cotabato City and Sultan Kudarat, were placed under a state of emergency following the massacre that occurred a day before.
• Presidential adviser on Mindanao Jesus Dureza met with some members of the Ampatuan clan in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.
o ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., and Andal Ampatuan Jr., Datu Unsay town mayor and suspected mastermind of the Maguindanao Massacre, attended the meeting.
November 26, 2009
• Andal Ampatuan Jr. was formally charged with multiple murder before the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the murder of 57 64 people in Maguindanao. If found guilty, he will be jailed for life without the possibility of parole.
• Andal Ampatuan Jr. was detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
• Ampatuan Jr. blamed MILF for the massacre but its spokesman, Eid Kabalu, denied Ampatuan’s allegations.
November 30, 2009
• Ismael Mangudadatu said that the massacre was taped by one of his sisters, whom he asked to put a recorder in her sock before they left Buluan. There was no confirmation of the recording’s existence.
• 64 bodies were recovered, including 22 women and 30 journalists.
• 11 witnesses were expected to arrive from Maguindanao.
(With reports from Gianfranco Geronimo)
Sources:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com
http://www.gmanews.tv
http://www.iag.org.ph
http://www.lawphil.net
http://www.mindanews.com
http://www.newsbreak.com.ph
http://www.pcij.org
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A glimpse at Maguindanao
…and the Culture of violence
Fifty seven and counting.
A week after the brutal fate that left the whole world in rage, various questions were raised in an attempt to grasp the gruesome story that befell our fellow countrymen. The Maguindanao massacre is deemed as the worst election-related violence in the country.
Maguindanao, located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is bordered by Lanao del Sur in the northwest and Sultan Kudarat in the south. It is considered one of the poorest provinces in the country. With its colorful Sultanate history, Maguindanao is filled with powerful political clans, private armies and Moro secessionists.
Amongst the political clans reigning oligarchies in the province, the Ampatuans, who seemed to wield power in the province, are pointed as the masterminds of the massacre which caused the life of another clan’s member—Mangudadatu’s wife. What has happened among their families recently is history. SEE article: RETRACING MAGUINDANAO
Violence and the “Rido” culture
The violence in Maguindanao can be attributed to what the Arroyo administration claims to have long been preventing: the ‘rido’ culture.
According to an article in Philippine Daily Inquirer, ‘rido’ or clan feuding is also blamed for the mass killing. Rido, however, is common in the province and other Moro communities.
The article discussed that in Maguindanao, ‘rido’ or “ukag” is directly associated to the concept of “kanaman,” pertaining to a deep sense of personal dignity and honor, and self-respect. When this honor is violated, the aggrieved retaliates to the extent of executing a murder—which, in turn, can invite vengeance. Obtaining justice is expected upon heads of families or clan leaders. And clan members should support the effort to defend their collective honor. This collective responsibility is partly explained by the Maguinadawons’ close family ties.
Though rido may be rooted in culture and Maguindanawon’s values, the existence of this is a result of the absence of justice brought about by the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the justice system and weak governance. Also, clans in a rido have easy access to guns that strengthen their bloody campaigns against each other.
It may not be surprising that locals would warn visitors to be indoors before it gets dark, and see the road empty. The culture of violence in Maguindanao has planted deep fears amongst the locals, and as the night unfolds, ‘silence’ harbors on the land.
Sources:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20091128-239042/Why-rido-persists-in-Maguindanao
http://pcij.org/stories/young-guns-young-terror/
http://pcij.org/stories/amid-the-fighting-the-clan-rules-in-maguindanao/
http://newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7148&Itemid=88889070
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/11/25/09/mangudadatus-offered-posts-avoid-conflict-ampatuans